Alistair Macbeth
Buxton, Derbyshire
Livestock (mixed)
DAIRY, SHEEP, PIGS, CHICKENS, BUXTON: Alistair farms 500m above sea level in the beautiful Peak District national park. Pictor Hall farm is an old estate which has been in the hands of its current owner since 1963. It's a small dairy farm with 120 acres and a herd of 40 milking cows.
Until recently this has been a traditionally run dairy, however he is trying to find a kinder way to farm and has started keeping the cows and calves together to encourage natural behaviour and improve welfare. Instead of separating them, he keeps the calves with the cows while milking them, and while he currently sells the milk to Arla he plans to start selling pasteurised milk directly to the consumer.
He also runs a small flock of 30 Jacob sheep and has two Gloucestershire old spot sows from which they breed piglets. He has 150 laying hens and delivers eggs and meat into his local town of Buxton twice a week.
Alistair became a farmer completely by accident. He arrived on the farm in a converted LDV van, offering to work a few hours a week for the elderly owner – who was struggling with the farm - in exchange for a place to live. Six years later he was managing the place.
“Although it wasn't easy to become a vegan dairy farmer, I couldn't walk away and allow the animals to not receive the standard of welfare that I believed they deserved. I do now eat animal products and pride myself in providing high welfare meat to our local community,” says Alistair, “when I came to the farm I was a vegan who believed that the farming industry needed to change.”
Alistair gets the most enjoyment out of providing a very high standard of welfare to the animals as they grow, in a beautiful place to live. But has realised that the hours can be brutal and the weather horrendous, which has had a knock-on effect to his family.
Although the farm has taken most of his free time away, Alistair used to be a regular on the UK festival scene.
Talking Point
As a gay ex-vegan dairy farmer it's hard to narrow the farming challenges to one, says Alistair. “But the biggest problem I see in agriculture is the sheer disconnect from people and their food. Most of us have little to no understanding of what it's like to be a farmer and how hard it is to work the land. We need more education in early years that directly connects people with the food they eat.”